The Duchess of Cambridge helped save Prince William after he left his ‘dysfunctional family’ by making him ‘feel important and worthy’, according to a royal expert.
Angela Levin, author of Harry: Biography of a Prince, told True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat that the Duke of Cambridge, 38, was in a ‘very difficult place’ after losing his mother Princess Diana aged 15 in 1997.
The young prince also witnessed his father, the Prince of Wales, and his mother’s very public breakdown of their marriage before their separation in 1992.
Ms Levin claimed Kate, 39, who married William on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, ‘really encouraged’ the duke and has dedicated her ‘whole life to making him happy’.
She added that the mother-of-three ‘has helped William be a husband by ‘introducing him to her own family a lot and spending time with a normal family and being a dad’.
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The Duchess of Cambridge helped save Prince William (pictured together) after he left his ‘dysfunctional family’ by making him ‘feel important and worthy’, according to a royal expert
Princess Diana and Prince Charles with a young Prince William in the gardens of Kensington Palace in London in 1984
Discussing the forthcoming 10th wedding anniversary of the duke and duchess and the strength of their relationship, Ms Levin said: ‘I think that Kate has helped save William.
‘I think it was very difficult for him coming out of a dysfunctional family, losing his mum so young and I think he was in a very difficult place.
‘She has really encouraged him. Her whole life is to make him happy, I think. She found things that really make him feel important and worthy rather than just going to cut ribbons.
‘I think she has helped him to be a husband by introducing him to her own family a lot and spending time with a normal family and being a dad.’
Angela Levin claimed Kate, 39, who married William on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London (pictured), ‘really encouraged’ the duke and has dedicated her ‘whole life to making him happy’
This week, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continued their engagements and sympathised with student nurses and told them that starting work placements in a pandemic must have been a ‘baptism of fire’ during a video call on Tuesday.
Prince William and Kate were speaking to young men and women from Ulster University to hear more about their experience of studying during the pandemic and experiencing the frontline of Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 response.
As three students were stood around a dummy in a bed as they assessed the mock-patient, Prince William said: ‘It is very difficult for you guys to go straight into a pandemic, I would imagine. That’s really baptism by fire.’
‘I imagine it has been totally crazy and very difficult to find your feet…head on fire, the whole time.’
This week, Prince William and Kate spoke to nursing students from Ulster University via video call to hear more about their experiences of studying during the pandemic on Tuesday
Stephanie Dunleavey, Lecturer in the School of Nursing, Ulster University, pictured left, followed by, seen left to right, Elizabeth (Lisa) Semerdzhieva, Year 3 Nursing student, Rachel Reid, Year 3 Nursing student, Paige Murray, Year 3 Nursing student
‘It’s scary,’ said one of the third years, Elizabeth Semerdzhieva. ‘Although it was frightening at the start, you really want to go out more now. You can’t wait to get out in practice, and feel like you are helping. That’s what we were born to do.’
Kate, who paired a smart blazer with round-neck top, added: ‘Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in the country. You could not have chosen a better career choice. It’s needed now more than ever.
‘You’ve got almost three generations now – those coming back from retirement, and you guys doing your training who are stepping up – it shows real commitment and real team work, and it should really be celebrated, so really well done.’
The Cambridges also chatted separately to Abigail McGarvey, a first-year adult nursing student, who told them: ‘It isn’t ideal, and it is unfortunate that you have your patients when they can’t see their families, and there are some that have been in hospital for months, they don’t have anyone else to talk to apart from us.
The Cambridges chatted separately to Abigail McGarvey, a first-year adult nursing student who has kept a video diary to illustrate a typical shift during her first placement as a student nurse
‘But that is part of the job and that is what makes it so nice, because they don’t have the emotional support from their family that they would have been getting. It is really important that we are there for them.
‘We are there if they have a bad day. We are there when they have good days as well. It is really nice to be there for them.’
She added that her grandmother, mother and sister were all nurses and remarked: ‘I couldn’t really escape it.’
Abigail kept a video diary to illustrate a typical shift during her first placement as a student nurse.
In footage she is seen getting up for a night shift, travelling to work and putting on personal protective equipment (PPE) of a mask, apron, gloves and visor – later she puts on higher-grade protection for working with Covid-19 positive patients.
Abigail McGarvey (pictured, left) told the royals about some of the challenges she had faced, including the emotional impact of patients being unable to receive visits from their families
William asked if training in a pandemic had changed her thoughts on becoming a nurse, and the student replied: ‘It has really confirmed that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life – this is the job I was meant to do.’
Abigail continued: ‘My first day on the wards I showed up and within a few hours there was a massive cardiac arrest.
‘And seeing everything just go up in the air, and how the team comes together, and how everyone is really working to look after these patients – it really just solidified that this is exactly what I want to do.’
Ranked in the top 50 nursing schools in the world, Ulster University’s School of Nursing has approximately 1600 students registered.
At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, students were asked to join the front line.
Student placements were adapted to meet the needs and demands of the health service, with the majority of students being placed in COVID-19 areas in both hospital and community settings.
The Royal Beat – available on True Royalty TV from Saturday 13th